Spring Symmetry 1999

Samia Halaby made this painting, Spring Symmetry, with acrylic on linen. Imagine a painter, alone in the studio, making a start, adding marks, rubbing them away, layering up a surface, and then standing back to look. All those little brushstrokes, like confetti or petals, building up a sense of density and movement. It's a field of warm hues; reds, oranges, yellows, sprinkled with a bit of green and blue. I can just picture her building up the image bit by bit. It's so physical! The paint is neither too thick nor too thin. It's just right. It is so evocative of nature and it reminds me a little bit of Joan Mitchell's flower paintings. Painting for me is often like trying to solve a puzzle, pushing and pulling the medium until the thing feels complete. Artists are in an ongoing conversation, and this is a painting that embraces uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations.